Securing trim panel



June 14, 1938. 4 B, C, PLACE 2,120,942

sEcURING TRIM PANEL Filed JuneV 25, 193e z sheets-sheet 1 fo JM/Wm June 14, 1938. B. c. PLACE SECURINGVTRIM PANEL Filed June 25, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June'14, 19,38

osez

nien o. Place, Detroit,

Mich., assigner of onef half to George E. Gagnier, Detroit, Mich.

Application June '25,

, v 1 Claim.

Y This linvention relates to novel fasteners and modes of securing trim panels, such as automobile door panels, for example, to supporting frames. More particularly, the invention is conoerned with ltypes of `spring fasteners that secure the panel to the frame by providing resilient tongue-like clamping elements that bear against the rear of the frame 'and serve to yieldingly hold the panel against the frame, rather than passfthrough openings in the frame that function as sockets for the reception of the shanks of-'the fasteners.

The primary purpose of the present invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive spring fastener, of the type that bears against the rear of the frame, rather than penetrates it, which fastener may be applied or interlocked to the panel with great facility, after the latter has been completely constructed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a spring fastener shaped so that its inherent resilience is utilized to retain it in assembled relation to the panel during application of thelatter to the frame and further utilized to exert a pull on the panel effective to retain the latter in snug engagement with the frame. y

A still further object of the invention is to provide a spring fastener of elongatedl form having a unitary hook formed for convenient engagement with the foundation of the panel after the latter has been completely constructed.

This invention also aims to provide an elongated spring fastener in the form of an upwardly bowed strip, which, by flattening against its` tendency vto remain in bowed form, is capable of being readily interlocked vto a trim panel by an engagementv maintained with certainty by said tendency. y

' Still another object of the invention is to provide an improvement in the mannerof interlock ing a fastener with the foundation of a panel without perforationof the foundation.

Further objects of the invention will appear as a description thereof proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a transverse section of a frame, such as an automobile door frame, having a trim panel applied thereto, by means of fasteners of the present invention, the section being taken on the plane indicated byline I-I of Figure 2.

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken on the plane 1936, serial No. 87,291 (C1. i5-138) Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows. Figures 4 and 5 are respectively plan and side elevational views of the fastener utilized in the 2 and 3. Figures 6 and 'l are respectively plan and side elevational views of the modified form of fascombination illustrated in Figures 1,

tener.

Figure 8 is a fragmental sectional View as seen in Figure 3, butshowing'the mode of use of the modified form of fastener of Figures 6 and 7.

Figure l9 is .a fragmentary view showing a part a of a trim panel having a further modied form of fastener applied thereto.

Figures 10 and 11 are sectional views taken on the planes indicated by the lines Ill- I and I I`I I in Figure 9, the sections being taken upon looking in the direction of thearrows.

Figure l2 is a fragmentary view showing a foundation having a still further modified form of fastener applied thereto. v

Figures 13 and 14 are respectively sections taken on the lines ,I3-I3 and, Ide-I4 in FigurelZ. Figure 15 is a sectional view of a fragment of a panel showinga still further modified form of fastener applied thereto.

vFigures 16 vand 17 are respectively plan and side views of Aa fastener constructed from a single piece of wire rather than from` a band of sheet metal.

Like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several figures.

The fastener of the present invention is particularly designed to attach trim panels, such as panel Ill, to a supporting frame, such as the.

frame Il of the door of an automobile, the trim panel serving to upholster the inside of the door.

The frame I I is provided with inturned anges I2 disposed approximatelynormal to the plane of the outside, of the door and further flanges I3 disposed in approximate parallelism with the outside plane of the door.

The fasteners of this of the panel.

Trim panel II) comprises a foundation I4 constructed of bre board or the like, a fabric cover I5 of suitable nish material, which cover is lapped around the edges of the foundation as is customary. lWadding i6 may be disposed between the foundation I4 and the fabric covering I5. Automobile trim panels are frequently constructed as just briefly described.

The fasteners designated as a whole by I'I inr Figures l and 2 are elongated in form and are secured to the foundation in a manner presently to be described after the trim panel has been completely constructed. The fasteners are secured to the foundation in such a manner as to leave the end of each fastener adjacent the margin of the panel free of attachment to the panel so,

vfrom the lower flange I3 so that the fasteners I1 at the bottom of the panel will clear said ange. After the fasteners have been engaged with the flange I3 at the right side of the panel, the body of the panel is exed into the dotted line position illustrated in Figure 1 so that the free ends of the fasteners at the left hand side of the panel may be forced in back of the flange I3 at the left hand side of the door frame. The panel is then permitted to assume its original flat condition. Engagement of the fasteners at the bottom of the panel with the lower flange I3, viewed in Figure 2, is then brought about by sliding the panel bodily downwardly to bring the free ends of the fastener I1 at the bottom of the panel into engagement with the rear of the iiange I3 at the bottom of the door frame. The panel is secured in final position by attaching a molding or garnish strip at the top of the panel (not shown) which will prevent movement of the panel in any direction and maintain it in fixed position on the frame of the door.

All of the fasteners presently to be described are adapted for use in securing trim panels to frames in the manner just described. It will be understood that the flanges I3 of the door frame need not be perforated, for the reception of shanks of spring fasteners, now widely used in securing trim panels to automobile or similar frames. Problems of alignment of the fasteners with openings in the anges are accordingly not presented when fasteners such as presently to be described are used, inasmuch as the spring tongues formed by the fasteners may engage the flange I3 at any point along the length thereof.

Now referring to the preferred form of fastener, and its mode of attachment to the foundation I4, illustrated in Figures 3, 4 and 5, it will be observed that the fastener includes an elongated sheet metal body I8, the ends I9 and 2Q of which are curved upwardly. The main portion of the body I9 is bowed upwardly as` clearly seen in Figure 5. The upwardly bowed portion carries a tongue 2| separated from the body of the fastener by slits or cuts, the tongue ZI comprising a downwardly extending portion 22 and a portion 23 disposed approximately at right angles to the portion 22 as clearly shown in Figure 5. The portions 22 and 23 form, in effect, a hook by which the fastener is engaged upon the foundation after one side of the foundation has been covered.

In order that the fastener may be engaged with the foundation, the latter is provided with an opening 24 at every point at which a fastener is to be attached thereto. Disposed adjacent each opening 24 is a recess 25, preferably formed by indenting the foundation without penetrating the same. The fastener of Figures 4 and 5 is associated with the foundation by bringing the portion 23 opposite the opening 24, and then applying pressure in a direction to flatten the upwardly bowed portion of the body of the fastener, said body flattened until the hook formed by the portions 22 and 23 of the fastener is in a position to engage the inside of the foundation when the fastener is moved to the right, viewing Figure 3, until complete engagement of the hook is effected. In the final position of the fastener, the round end formed by the upturned portion 20 engages in the notch 25, said engagement preventing shifting of the fastener during application of the panel to the frame of the door by preventing longitudinal movement of the fastener in a direction necessary to disengage the hook formed by the portion 23 from the foundation. Fasteners areapplied along the three margins of the foundation in the manner just stated, and the panel is then applied to the door frame in accordance with the mode of procedure already described.

It will be observed that a firm interlock is provided between the fastener and the foundation inasmuch as when the hook is engaged with the foundation, the fastener is flattened from its normal position so that the body of the fastener exerts a pull on the hook maintaining it in rm frictional engagement with the inside of the foundation. At the same time thefiattening of the upwardly bowed portion of the fastener serves to cause the free end 2| to very firmly bear upon the inside of the panel, and when the end I9 is separated from the foundation in forcing the flange I3 between the tongue formed by the end I9 and the foundation, such separation causes a further attening of the body and an increase in the tension set up in the spring of the body. As a result when the fasteners are engaged in back of the flange 23, they serve to hold the panel very firmly against the flange I3 and prevent movement of the panel with respect to the frame in any direction, inasmuch as the tension under which the fastener is placed serves to exert a force on the panel tending to draw it against the supporting frame. 'Ihe panel is thus caused to lie flat against the frame regardless of slight irregularities in the panel or in the frame.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Figures 6,' 7 and 8, a fastener is disclosed in which the end thereof remote from the margin of the panel is provided with an inwardly turned portion 26 instead of the rounded upwardly turned end 20' characterizing the fastener of Figures 4 hook 26 may engage, the opening 21 being usedinstead of the recess 25 in the form of the invention illustrated in Figure 3. The fastener `of this form of the invention presents a more positive engagement between the foundation preventing movement of the fastener in a direction necessary to disengage the hook, once it has been engaged with the foundation. In other respects the fastener of Figures 6 and 7 is like that of Figures 4 and 5.

In Figures 9, 10 and 11, Ya modified way of attaching or interlocking the fastener to the foundation is disclosed. In this form of the invention, the foundation is unperforated, that is, no

openings passing completely therethrough are,

formed therein. The fastener is attached by attaching to the foundation, at the points at which the fasteners are to be engaged therewith, staples 28 each having legs 23 which are driven through the foundation and preferably clinched on the inside thereof. The portion of the staple that connects the ends 29 is maintained in spaced relation to the outside of the foundation. Recesses 30, preferably formed by indenting the foundation o-pposite the staples, are also provided. The recesses 3i) do not pass completely through the foundation as illustrated in Figure 10. In this form of the invention, the portion 22 corresponding to the portion 22 of the fastener before dee scribed is made shorter and the fastener engaged with the foundation by passing the portion 23 between the staple and the outside of the foundation. The fastener is moved in a direction normal to the margin of the panel until the end 2E engages in the recess 3U, which prevents movement of the fastener in a direction to disengage the portion 23 from beneath the staple 28. In this form of invention, as in the previous forms, the bowed portion of the fastener is pressed downwardly in order to bring the portion 23 beneath the staple so that the body of the fastener is under tension when it is applied to the panel.

Another form of the invention is illustrated in Figures 12, 13 and 14 and comprises a sheet metal fastener having an elongated body 3| and upwardly turned ends 32 and 33. The body 3l is upwardly bowed, the mid-portion of said upwardly7 bowed portion being offset downwardly as shown by 34. The fastener of this formof the invention may be applied to the foundation by first applying to the foundation staples having legs 33 and 31 that penetrate the foundation and preferably are clinched against the inside thereof, the body of the staple 35 being maintained substantially spaced from the outside of the foundation I4. The foundation is interlocked with the foundation I4 by passing it from one end under the body of the staple 35 until the offset portion 34 is opposite the staple. vThe pressure applied to flatten the fastener in passing it beneath the staple is then released and the body of the staple is seated in a transverse groove in the body of the fastener provided by the offset 34. In this manner the fastener is firmly interlocked to the panel and is incapable of becoming detached during the application of the panel to the frame in the manner already described.

A still further modification of the invention is illustrated in Figure 15 in which a fastener having a body of the form already described is provided with a depending portion 38 having a portion 39 disposed at right angles thereto and forming therewith a hook and an upwardly turnedv portion 40 at the end of the hook of the portion 39. In applying the fastener just described to the foundation I4, the latter is provided with openings di and 42, the portion 4I) being brought into the opening 42 by bending the fastener into the dotted line position illustrated in Figure 15 and then permitting it to resume its normally bowed condition sufcient to cause the portion 39 to bear firmly against the under side of the f foundation. In this position rthe portion 4D is disposed in opening 42 preventing movement of the fastener with respect to the panel.

Still another modified form of fastener is shown in Figures 16 and 17, such form differing from that already described only in that the fasteneris constructed of wire rather than sheet metal. The wire fastener comprises an upwardly bowed body consisting of the two ends of the piece of wire, said ends 43 and 44 being each bent into bowed form. The mid-portion of the wire is bent inwardly between the ends 43 and 44 and into the form of a hook d5 corresponding in structure and function to the hook formed by portions 22 and 23 of the form of the invention rst described. The fastener of Figures 16 and 17 is bent into the desired form and the wire is then tempered to provide itwith the desired resilience. The tips ofthe two ends 43 and 44 are preferably curved upwardly at 46 for convenient engagement with flange I3.

The invention may be embodied in other specie forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claim rather than by the foregoing description and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claim are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is:

A trim panel and fastener combination, com'- prising a panel foundation and spring fasteners attached to said foundation, each fastener being in the form of an elongated resilient metal strip bowed away from said foundation and extending toward an edge of the foundation, openings in said foundation beneath each fastener, and means to interlock each of said strips to said foundation in xed relation, comprising a part depending from each strip through one of said openings, a part to underlap said foundation adjacent anopening, and a part to engage a shoulder on said foundation to prevent longitudinal shifting of said strip.

BION C. PLACE. 

